California Day [Three] Recap! Hollywood Hike.

August 15, 2013 -
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Hi all! Hope you’re having a great week! I have to admit that I am still getting used to being 3 hours ahead now. My body is a bit tired so there was no workout involved yesterday and to get to the gym today I needed to motivate myself. My body felt good but I felt like I had so much catching up to do that those thoughts alone were making me question my motivation. Hey, we’re all human! Honestly most of the days I am all pumped up to hit the gym but today was one of those days where I needed a boost.

I have to say that my tea from the night before was a great reminder to get going today! Do you ever feel like your tea quotes read your mind?

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Feeling great can come from your choice to act great, which can all route from your approval of yourself. My soothing caramel night time ‪Yogi Tea knew exactly what to say last night.  In life we get one guaranteed relationship – and that is with ourselves. So, lets start accepting that & accepting who we are. #BETRUETOYOU

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Today I wanted to recap California Day [THREE] from the IDEA Convention – which you can find recap from day [One] & [Two] by clicking those links!

The third day was actually Mamacake’s birthday! We started off with the Top 4 Male & Female Trainers in the conference instructing us at different stations. One of them happened to be Todd Durkin who my friend Jesse is interning with right now. We were split into 4 groups based on what color wrist band we were given at the door & then got to work!

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All of the trainers did a part of the warm-up but Todd Durkin finished it off with an amazing group chant! I couldn’t’ help but post about the energy that was felt throughout that room.

The workout consisted of 4 stations. One station had ladder & rope drills. Another station was all about tubing & body weight. The third station was sprint drills & partner drills. The 4th station was BOSU balls. Mamacakes & I had to duck out early to head to hike the Hollywood Hills! IDEA offered this as an extra to the conference & since it was Mom’s birthday – we couldn’t pass up the chance.

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While waiting for the bus, I refueled with some overnight oats that I brought with me for a quick meal.

*1/2 cup oats, 1 cup water, 1/4 cup peanut flour, cinnamon, stevia,
& 2 TB Flax seed mixed to sit over night in the fridge.

Topped with fresh Cali berries!

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While sitting & waiting we bumped into the lovely Shannon & Kristin! Which there was an obvious workout gear color combo going on. It was my first time meeting these ladies & it honestly feels like I’ve known them forever.  After some chit chat we jumped on the bus to head to the Hollywood Hills.

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The trails mostly looked like this & our trail guide was so sweet. As we walked along she explained everything around us.

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We reached the top of the trail that overlooked all of town.
While most people were taking scenic pictures

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I was just hanging out with the Hollywood Hills sign Winking smile #NBD

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Myself & one of the IDEA leaders doing some tricks on the bars. My trick was what you see in the picture; way less entertaining than her abilities.

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This is about as close as we got to the sign.
From what we were told, there really aren’t any trails that lead right to the sign.

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Group picture!

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Such a fun experience with mamacakes on her birthday!
I’m really glad we got to do this together.

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Just incase you were curious – Berlin, Germany is approximately 5,795 miles away from Hollywood.

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Despite all of my monkeying around, I really did take the time to enjoy that exact moment. How often am I on top of the Hollywood hills? Not very often..or ever. So it was a really cool to take it all in & feel accomplished.

This week helped put a lot into perspective about where I’ve come from when I first started my journey & my blog. If you told me two years ago that I would be doing the things I am now, I wouldn’t of believed you. I started it as a way to share my recipes with others and I am so thankful & appreciative to where it has led me both personally, physically, & mentally. I am able to share my stories along with meeting AMAZING and inspiring people while enjoying life.

Regardless of what hill you have to climb, with hard work & dedication, you CAN reach the top! Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t live your dream. Trust me, it hasn’t been all butterflies & flowers along the way but I stayed TRUE TO MYSELF, believed, & tried really hard not to let any negativity get me down. I am a fan of positivity.

I still have some ways to go to get to my own personal hill top, but I look at each path as an opportunity to lead me in the right direction.

Long story even longer, I wanted to say thank YOU all for supporting what I do! It truly means so much to me.

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After coming back from the hike, I participated in the All-Star boot camp with some of the top trainers. They gave us numbers and we were put into different “Arenas”.

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This was ironic to me because my last name is Arena & I’ve been #3 my whole life.

It basically resembled my old high school jersey’s. Oh the memories!

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I got to workout with my girl @Spressman and we made a good team!
That girl is a hard worker for suuuure.
We had so much fun laughing & working hard at the same time.

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Also snagged a pic with Peter Twist. Peter is a stage 4 cancer survivor & continues to inspire everyone around him with his positive attitude.

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After (another) awesome workout, we headed to the Expo hall to meet up with some friends!

Of course stopped to see my peeps from VEGA!
They were so nice & I got some awesome samples to try out.

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*I promise they asked me to “Flex for VEGA” in this pic but apparently my mom & her training partner Mary-Jean missed the memo Winking smile Which is a shame because they are strong ladies!

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Bumped back into Shannon & then went on a mission to find Elaine Lalanne, who by the way, did 10 push-ups on stage the day before! Woo!

So, as you can see – this day was jam packed! The girls & I all were starving so we went to a place called The Farm at Beverly Hills. They dimmed the lights on us right before we got our food so the lighting was a bit off – BUT I think it’s evident how delish this meal was.

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I got the Maple Baked Salmon over greens,
candied walnuts, grapes, & apples.
Side of roasted potatoes, parsnips, & carrots.

The girls, Shannon, Kristin, Gina, myself & Mamacakes all enjoyed our food, wine, & great conversation where we all shared our stories about how we started blogging. It was so awesome to get to know everyone on a whole new level.

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Cheers to Day Three & to our bodies for being so strong & healthy to carry us through a whole day of workouts, hiking, walking, & living! Red heart Sometimes we have to take a chance to appreciate things we often forget about and realize how blessed we are to be able to have these experiences.

Recap of Day [Four] will be up next! Keep an eye out.

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Red heart Kasey

#honesthour chat:

What’s your favorite way to get motivated to go to the gym?

A favorite song you listen to? Quote you read? I’d love to know!